Outcome of the EU Referendum

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously, I said that I thought our economy would be better off if we stayed in. The British people have made a different decision. Now we need to make sure that we do our best to safeguard our economy in the new reality.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

In the last debate that we had on the EU, the Foreign Secretary said that the problem for the UK was that we had no experienced trade negotiators left in the civil service. What are the Government now doing urgently to train up people so that they can negotiate on trade deals?

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously, we are going to be increasing our capacity in that vital area.

European Council

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 22nd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely can answer that, and I think it is an important question. There are two things here. First, a set of principles is set out in section A on economic governance, and they are principles of non-discrimination, no cost, and no disadvantage. Crucially, paragraph 4—this was of real concern to the Bank of England and I know it will be of concern to my right hon. Friend’s Committee—makes it clear that the financial stability of member states whose currency is not the euro is a matter for their own authorities and own budgetary responsibility. Those principles are very important, and what is exciting about this is not only that they have been set out for the first time, and not only has Europe for the first time accepted that there are other currencies inside the European Union, but those changes will be incorporated into the treaties. The mechanism is something over and above a new way of ensuring that issues are raised, should we wish to raise them, at the level of the European Council. We do not have that protection today, but making the principles part of the treaty—already an international legally binding decision—is hugely important. If my right hon. Friend listens to people who speak on behalf of financial services, the Bank of England and others, he will recognise that this is really important progress for Britain.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

There is still plenty that divides the Prime Minister and me politically, but on this and in the national interest I think he is right to be campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union. Let me read a quote to him:

“leaving would cause at least some business uncertainty, while embroiling the Government for several years in a fiddly process of negotiating new arrangements, so diverting energy from the real problems of this country”.

That was on 7 February. The Mayor of London was right 15 days ago, wasn’t he?

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say to the hon. Gentleman—and to everyone—is that we must examine what the alternatives are, how much uncertainty there will be, and how long these processes will take. Therein lies the importance of this decision for businesses, families and people’s prospects up and down our country.

UK-EU Renegotiation

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 3rd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right. The next few weeks will be about trying to secure this deal and nail down the details. If that is successful, there will then be the bigger arguments he refers to.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

I suspect there will always be issues that divide the Prime Minister and me, but, on this, is not what matters the national interest and what he described as the greater prize? Is not one of the benefits of a document that is legally binding and ratified by the British people in a referendum that it will be the British people who decide? Had he gone for treaty change, could it not have been scuppered by referendums in France, Netherlands, Ireland and other EU member states whose publics might come to a different view from that of the British public?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his comments. Clearly, if agreed, this will be a legally binding arrangement, for the reasons I have given, but we are aiming in it for treaty change—on those things that need to change—the next time the treaties are altered. He makes a good point though: the more we can bring this together in one place and explain what it is about, the better the British people will see the force of the arguments.

EU Council

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The figures speak for themselves. We said we would take 20,000 people from the camps, do 1,000 by Christmas and get on with it. Thanks to the excellent work of the Under-Secretary of State for Refugees, we have fulfilled our pledge. If we look at the resettlement and relocation schemes that the EU spent a lot of time discussing, so far they have not amounted to as many as the 1,000 people that we have helped. I am sure that they will over time, but my point is that Britain is a country that prides itself on signing agreements, implementing them and doing the things that are set out in those agreements. That is exactly what we have done with Syrian refugees.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

Has the Prime Minister discussed his renegotiation efforts with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, and does he recognise the growing anxiety of Gibraltarians at the prospect of British exit from the European Union—not least the prospect that a currently impartial Commission and other member states might take sides in future deliberations between Britain and Spain?

[The Prime Minister]

I have not discussed the issue recently with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, with whom I am on very good terms. But of course people in Gibraltar will have a vote.

European Council

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 19th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely will. I know how hard the hon. Gentleman works on this issue. We will look at all the matters that he raises. As I say, we will look very carefully at what other European countries and other European steel producers do. They are suffering, too. This fall in world prices is not caused simply by the action taken by China; it is an economic impact of the changing pattern in world demand, as he well knows. But inside those constraints, we should do everything we can.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

As the Prime Minister has toured Europe’s capitals to talk to his counterparts about subsidiarity, what discussions has he had about the deepening of the common security and defence policy? What does he envisage Britain’s role in that to be, particularly in the European operational headquarters?

Syria: Refugees and Counter-terrorism

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 7th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me be clear about what I was saying; I do not want to mislead anybody. I said that the thinking about safe havens was the “right sort of thinking”, because it is addressed at trying to help people in the region, rather than encouraging them to travel. The problem with safe havens up to now—it is still a problem—is that if we are going to declare somewhere a safe haven, it must be safe. Our experience in Bosnia and elsewhere is very relevant here. To make the haven safe, we would have to commit a lot of troops and, potentially, air support to take out Syrian air defences. A whole series of steps would have to be taken, and we are a long way away from that. The only point I was trying to make was to show some sympathy with those people who are pursuing the idea of safe havens, because they are at least trying to help people in the region, rather than encouraging this trade in people.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has set out the action that he intends to take in and around Syria, and also here at home. He has been very clear about not becoming involved in the EU quota system. Given that, and given the very real pressures faced by the countries on the frontline—particularly Greece and Italy—is there any assistance that the United Kingdom can give those countries with the processing of the applications and with the refugees?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, we can and we do. We help them with their capacity in terms of fingerprinting and sorting people. Part of the problem with the Schengen system is that people who come to Greece and Italy then transit onwards, rather than doing what they ought to do, which is to provide their details so that they can make their asylum applications in the first country they arrive in. We are helping with that, as it is part of the problem that Schengen is coping with at the moment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 15th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We made the pledge in our manifesto that there would be no further reductions in regular armed services numbers, which was absolutely right. With the 2% and the extra commitment that we are making throughout this Parliament, we can have a strategic defence and security review that looks at options to make this country even safer. The Chancellor and the Defence Secretary have made sure that we look at options for counter-terrorism and intelligence and security, as well as defence assets, to ensure that we do everything we can at this time of heightened security to keep Britain safe.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

Q10. A combination of changes that were made to the state pension in 1995 and 2011 means that many women who were born in the 1950s will not have the kind of retirement that they had hoped for. Given that senior civil servants, judges and even Members of Parliament have their pensions protected within 10 years of their normal retirement age, is it not time for the Prime Minister to look again at ensuring that this group of women have fairness in the system?

Tunisia, and European Council

Debate between Andrew Gwynne and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 29th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There are many examples of this sort of courage and kindness, and it is good to see them; these people are a credit to the Tunisian nation.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

I associate myself with the comments of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on the terrible events in Tunisia. On the issue of migration at the European Council, did the Prime Minister take the opportunity to discuss with other European leaders the situation at Calais, and does he think that the EU proposals for relocation systems will help or hinder the efforts there?

[The Prime Minister]

The short answer is that they will not make any short-term impact, but they might, in my view, make it worse in the long term by encouraging more people to make the journey. I did have a brief discussion with François Hollande about the situation in Calais, and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is meeting the French Interior Minister later this week. There is more we are going to do—in spending money, providing fencing and other actions such as sniffer dog teams and the like—to try to help the French and work together with them to reduce the problems in Calais.